It's Official

(link fixed) Update: Alan Webb's Excellent Advice To Robby Andrews On Turning Pro "If you really love
it, then it's
worth it. But if you don't love the sport,
then you're going to hate it as your job. It is a job. It's not your college team anymore. You're going to be getting a paycheck for this, so you got to love doing it."

Robby Andrews Turns Pro Last week, LRC broke the news that Andrews was leaving the University of Virginia. Now the 800m star has done what most expected - turn
pro. He'll be coached by Jason Vigilante and train with American mile record holder Alan Webb. He has not signed an endorsement deal yet but will be represented by Ray Flynn.On The Boards: Robby Andrews Turns Pro

LRC Men's 3,000m Final Lives Up To The Hype World 5,000m champion Mo Farah squared off with two-time world indoor champion Bernard Lagat and 2012
World leaders Augustine Choge and Edwin Soi of Kenya. Once again, Bernard Lagat was too good. They were all in contention on the final lap. There was some contact, two guys running on the infield, a DQ and a resintatement, but none of that stopped Bernard Lagat from showing he's the best 3,000m runner in the world.

The Fast Guys Of The LRC Puma Faas Challenge (Our Apologies For Disrespecting The Always Disrespected David McNeill)

LRCThe Fastest Puma Faas Winners - Mark Wieczorek, David McNeill And Ricky Flynn LetsRun.com is made up of the most passionate and fastest runners on the planet. The three guys above entered the Puma Faas Challenge just like you even though they are total studs. Mark is a 1:46.00
800m
runner, David a two-time NCAA 5,000m champion and an Australian national champion, and Ricky was a breakthough performer at the Olympic Trials Marathon. Read all about them. Thanks to Ricky's run at the Trials, he may be getting a sponsor soon, so he's giving his shoes to his roommate.
Previous:Get Inspired With The Final 20+ Winners In The Puma Faas Challenge A guy with incurable cancer who wants to run 16-minute miles, a guy who want to break 4 despite getting hit by a car going 35mph, a woman who has a 5-year running streak going that includes two pregnancies, much more.

LRCGalen Rupp's American 2-Mile Record Is Highlight Among 5 World LeadersPre-race, we pondered if this was the best men's indoor mile in the US since LetsRun.com was founded and it lived up to the
hype, as Silas Kiplagat edged Caleb Ndiku in a world-leading time, but it was Galen Rupp, running to honor the late Geoff Hollister, who stole the show with an impressive American record at 2 miles. In other action, Brenda Martinez took on some of the world's best in the mile, Jamaica's 8th best sprinter beat all the Americans, and Tianna Madison (a long jump world champion most of you have forgotten) shocked VCB and Allyson Felix in the 60m.

LRCMen's
Marathon Trials Analysis And Reaction The 2012 Trials race was a classic. We throw some love to the top 3, ponder Ritz's future in the marathon, tell you who had the best debut, and tell you who that guy you never heard of was. Plus we talk about Meb's 74-year-old badass dad and look at the fortune of some old timers who didn't make the team, Josh Cox and Dan Browne, in addition to the ones who did (Meb and Abdi).

LRC 2:05:06!!! Geoffrey Mutai Caps Year In Style An unbelievable year in men's marathoning had an appropriate finish, as the Kenyan man who had the most unbelievable of all years, Geoffrey Mutai, smashed the previous NYC Marathon record by a stunning 2:38 - that's two minutes and 38 seconds. If it wasn't the greatest 2nd-greatest men's marathon performance
ever, you'll have to tell us what was. American Meb Keflezighi hung with the leaders for 20 miles after a blistering 63:16 1st half and ended up with a much-deserved PR. Mutai picked up $200,000 by winning, but the big financial winner was runner-up Emmanuel Mutai, who won $635,000 ($500,000 for the WMM title).

LRC Mary Keitany Beats
HerselfThe women's race was full of gut-wrenching
drama, as Mary Keitany went out in a crazy 67:56. The problem was she came back in 74:42, as unheralded Firehiwot Dado (Rome
Marathon champ) got the win.

#4The Week That Was In Running: March 12 - March 18, 2012This
week,
we break down the action at the NYC Half and get ready for the Olympic 10,000 meters by talking about many of the
US top prospects as well as Japan's 20 year old sensation Chihiro Miyawaki and by criticizing and praising Kenya's decision to have their 10,000 trials in Eugene. Along the way, we give you a stat that shows Kenya > the rest of the world at 10,000 despite the fact they haven't won gold in 44 years. Plus it's been a great last 365 days for Meb Keflezighi.

Did You Not Get The Olympic Tickets You Wanted Or Not Qualify For The Games? Well, At Least You
Don't Have To Worry About This
Olympic Terror Threat "Substantial" A top security official briefed David Cameron's full cabinet on the matter.

Recommended Read The
New York Times Introduces Kirani James To The World James has risen from poverty and a tiny party island to world champion in a very short period of time despite having an awkward left foot plant that "experts" have insisted he change (remind anyone of Michael Johnson?). James, just 19, is still a full-time student at the University of Alabama, as anything less than that and he'll be deported. Crazy. He already is #3 all-time at 400m indoors.

LRC 3,000s: Chris Derrick Pushes Lawi Lalang To The Line, Emily Infeld Wins Her First Title (link fixed) Friday night, Chris Derrick won
accolades for
coming within 1.7 seconds of beating Lawi Lalang. Derrick did even better on Saturday night, coming within .17 seconds. In the end, Derrick's efforts weren't enough, as Lalang completed the double. In the women's 3,000m, Emily Infeld won a four-person sprint around the final bend over (among others) Jordan Hasay. Hasay's Ducks were so good they would have won the team title if she had stayed in Oregon.

Kiprop 1:45.9, Rudisha 45.61, David Torrence 3:35.6 WinsThe Australian
season got underway in full force with the two best mid-distance runners, Olympic and World 1,500m champ Asbel Kiprop and World 800m champ David Rudisha, both dropping down in distance. Rudisha ran 45.61 at 400, while Kiprop got the 800m win in 1:45.9. Kiprop dropping down let American David Torrence win the 1,500 in 3:35.6. World hurdles champ Sally Pearson did the hurdles/200m double. Nick Symmonds did not have his kick and was a well-beaten 6th in 1:47.44, which is
a
pretty good opener.

LRCHello World, Meet Ayele Abshero (2:04:23 Debut!)The 21-year-old former Jr. World XC champ's marathon debut was super-special, as his surge with just over 3km remaining decimated
the deepest
marathon field in history, as four
men broke 2:05 in the race, eight broke 2:06, 10 broke 2:07, and 17 broke 2:10 - all records as fastest-ever times for places were recorded in spots three through
17. 2011 belonged to the Kenyan men, will 2012 belong to Ethiopia? The women's race was super-fast and super-deep as well, as 3 women broke 2:20 in the same race for the 1st time, as Aselefech Mergia ran 2:19:31 to win and a record 9 women broken 2:25.Martin Lel was a DNF, Ramaala 2:12. *AP*Butcher: Ethiopians Strike Back*MB: 4 guys I've never heard of go sub 2:05 in Dubai

Weekly Recap

LRC The Week That Was In Running: March 5 - March 11, 2012 This week, we wonder if the NCAA milers could have beaten Bernard Lagat at Worlds if they'd jumped into the 3k with a mile to go, compare Chris
Derrick to Galen Rupp, tell you how Meseret Defar was beaten at Worlds, tell you how many NCAA runners would have medalled at Worlds, pay homage to the great Mizuki Noguchi, and also explain why indoor track in many ways is better than outdoor track.

He talks about how he had to have surgery in September after he tripped over his dog, giving up his 2011 Worlds spot, his 9-minute mile first run back, and his plans for outdoors. Video below. Larger here.

Highlights And Last 800m Of Men's 3,000m At Worlds (Larger Video Here - We Previously Had It Set Up So You Could Watch Without Knowing The Results)

Training Advice

Advice From The Pros

Top 10 Training Tips
LetsRun.com's Weldon Johnson gives his top 10 training tips in this letsrun.com classic when the site first launched. They helped him knock 1:22 off his 10k PR in one race and will definitely help you, too.

No Shortcuts
LetsRun.Com coaching consultant John Kellogg outlines his basic coaching approach and gives the four principles to correct training for elites. LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson translates Mr. Kellogg's approach so that it is beneficial for the masses.

Wejo Speaks:

Why I Sucked In College Perhaps Wejo's most popular training article ever. Wejo explains why he was only a mediocre college runner, yet ended up running 28:06 for 10k.

Highlights From Our Archives

Kenya:

LetsRun.com's Wejo went to Kenya for the World XC Championships and then he toured the country and explored the secrets of some of the Kenyan greats. See some of his insights on this incredible country.

Controlled Chaos Read about incredible one-of-a-kind 2007 World XC Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. Tens of thousands of people packed like sardines, hanging in trees, in oppressive heat, all
to
see the Cross-Country Championships for the first time in Kenya. There will never be a party like this one again.